Rick Mayer
Digital ProducerI’m the online producer for Health News Florida, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR that delivers news about health care issues.
This is an important position at WUSF. In 2019, the typical U.S. family spent about 11 percent of its annual income on health care, so it stands to reason issues of cost, quality, access and innovation are consequential to all Floridians. Then COVID-19 came along, and the weight of these matters gained exponentially. I take our reporting on these topics quite seriously, as I’m sure you do, too.
Literally growing up in newsrooms and a little serendipity along the way prepared me well for the post. Here’s the abridged version: I’m a Tampa guy, graduating from H.B. Plant High and thrust into the world with my USF degree rolled tightly in hand. From there, it was three mostly sleepless decades as an editor at The Tampa Tribune, then developing and managing an online journal serving physician executives. There’s also my side job editing a statewide health magazine.
And being married to a longtime hospital nurse/case manager helps; dinner conversation often gives me a feel of what’s happening on the front lines. The good and not-so-good.
Of course, my time isn’t always spent flailing in the health news vortex. You’re actually more likely to find me breaking down the Bucs, Bulls or Bolts after a game, taking Oodle the poodle to the dog park or tinkering the backroom piano while vicariously reliving my former life as a musician. (Remember, kids: Parents of percussionists have plenty of patience. Plenty!)
Contact Rick on X @rmayer2361 or by email at Mayer1@wusf.org.
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As the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers slug it out, cultural institutions in their respective markets are laying their Monet on the table. -
Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin has covered the team from the fledgling Devil Rays to the heights they're now experiencing. He tells "Florida Matters Live & Local" what the team has done to get there. -
The Discovery and Innovation Center will bring together about 250 faculty members, researchers, postdoctoral fellows and support staff working in areas including drug discovery, bioengineering, cancer metabolism and tumor biology -
Cooler, drier weather will likely need to stick around a little longer before its effects show up in reported case numbers. Hillsborough added 36 infections and Pinellas another 14 in the latest weekly state report. -
Games 1 and 2 will be shown on the videoboard while guests watch from the stands or field. Upgrades include a buffet at the Hall of Fame Bar & Grill or seating in 162 Landing with food and drink included. -
Fans still looking for seats to Games 3 and 4 at Tropicana Field will need to look to secondary ticket sellers and expect to shell several hundred to a few thousand dollars per ticket. -
Maurice Kurtz tells CIDRAP News he woke up with a 101-degree fever and "ached so much." After tests for flu and COVID came back negative, he went to an urgent care clinic for a dengue test. -
South Florida's defense kept the Golden Flashes out of end zone and scored on a 96-yard fumble return to break a two-game losing streak. The Bulls' offense again struggled in the first half of a game. -
Redner built a business empire on the shoulders of Mons Venus lap dancers, then used his stage to challenge local government, fight for civil rights and advocate for medical marijuana. -
The 63-year-old pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. The aircraft, spraying pesticide amid a county mosquito-borne illness advisory, went down in a wooded area near homes in Myakka City.
